#mollyinaminute

On this day last year I wrote a birthday blog post. It included a list of goals that I referred back to periodically. I didn’t fulfill all of my goals. I could (and have) call(ed) myself a failure.

Here are the goals I posted last year:

Do more yoga & meditation; spend more time tuning myself into my intuition. [C]

Only take on new work that provides an expansive learning opportunity or excites my love of ___ (too many things to list). [C]

Jump out of a plane (with a parachute). [A]

Take another big trip (Asia, South America, Europe, all of the above, I’m not picky). [D]

Karaoke as often as the opportunity presents itself (thanks to advice from Peter Shallard re: public failure). [A-]

Externalize my internal passion, drive, and love in a more open way. Remember that I have nothing to hide. [A+]

I added grades for myself next to each goal. I passed a few classes with flying colors but ended up with an overall goal-GPA of 2.83. Not so great but it could be much worse. Remember that time I got a 7 on a test?

Anyways, there are other things I failed at this year besides those goals. I failed at keeping up with some of my oldest and dearest friends. I failed at fulfilling some of my volunteer and work commitments. I failed at keeping my bedroom clean.

Perhaps my most consistent and biggest failure has been my lack of timely and clear communication. I’m going to email you back, I promise. [That’s probably a lie.]

I’ve made amazing new friendships. I’ve been momma-bird-fed by #roomierebecca. I’ve cried over more breakfasts than I can count with @heyitsmegan, @tritico, and @irishcajun [#breakfastclub]. I sang and danced almost every day. I told more people that I love them. Because I do.

I’ve gotten on stage in front of big and small crowds alike for everything from moderating panels to telling stories for a comedy show. I became Editor In Chief of Silicon Bayou News. I read more books than was probably healthy. I traveled to New York, Boston, Denver, Washington D.C., and St. Louis.

Nothing to Hide

The most important part of my goal list for last year was the last part of the last goal. “Remember that I have nothing to hide.” For me, this is where I succeeded enough to call the whole year a win. I told stories I was scared to tell. I talked to close friends in a more open way about my hopes, dreams, and fears. And I started Molly in a Minute.

Doing daily video posts felt like a huge step out onto a shaky limb. It was just risky enough and just crazy enough and I’m still surprised every time someone watches one of my wild rants.

A barrier has been removed between me and the rest of the world thanks to #mollyinaminute. I’m more real on those videos than I could ever be on twitter or in a written blog. For that one minute every day I have nothing to hide.

Without further ado, here are a few publicly stated goals for the 27th year of my life:

Leave the country. [Rollover from last year. Italy, anyone? New Zealand? Thailand?]

Visit my #2 in Chicago.

Create a product. [From a conversation with @tdavidson that has been bouncing around in my head for months.]

Be more observant and connected to my surroundings. Try to see something every day that I’ve never seen before.

Say No enough that I can really mean it when I say Yes.

Surprise people. Do something that exceeds the expectations of those closest to me.

Some History

I’ve been thinking a lot about video content in the past couple of months. A few years ago I started watching Diggnation (a weekly webcast featuring Digg founder Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht) and segued that experience into watching Kevin Rose and Tim Ferriss’ later webcast, The Random Show.

I also watched a lot of TED Talks and then (lightning!) discovered the magic of Gary Vaynerchuk. Gary is an excellent example of someone who used the power of video to transform his business, his life, and eventually the lives of countless others. In 2006, he started Wine Library TV, a regular video blog about wine. This made sense because he was the co-owner of a wine retailer called Wine Library and had spent years learning about and buying wine for the store.

Along with his general business prowess, his experiments in video and social media created tidal waves of growth for the company. Like the cool dude he is, Gary picked up a lot of lessons along the way and has since shared them through his books, by speaking at conferences, and now through his own non-wine-related video posts.

Gary’s success in business is inspiring, but what is most inspiring to me is his ability to show his passion, share his ideas, and cause real change through this medium.

I’m not Gary, but we do have a few things in common. I created this fancy venn diagram to prove it:

Figure 1: Molly Oehmichen vs. Gary Vaynerchuk

I might’ve missed a few important things, but you get the general idea. When Gary Vaynerchuk started Wine Library TV, he was pretty much a nobody. Today, Gary is a tried and true influencer in social media, technology, customer service, and of course, wine.

Sometimes influencers are born, but more often than not they make themselves. I wasn’t born much of anything, but I plan to use every opportunity available to make something of myself.

So What?

So a few months ago, video started looking like an attractive option to reach a new, broader audience. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to talk about or that I could really speak to any one particular subject. I went back and forth with the idea for so long that I knew I had to start doing *something* with it or it would drive me insane.

From that idea, #mollyinaminute was born. It’s basically a daily vlog (video blog) where I talk about whatever is on my mind when I happen to hit record.

Goals (evolving)

Get into the habit of posting something every day.

Get comfortable recording video of myself.

Get comfortable recording video of myself in front of people I don’t know.

Interact with people I usually talk to on twitter in new ways.

Learn more about personal interactions on the web, analytics, and content management.

Speak concisely (a minute is short)!

So, without further ado, here are the first seven episodes (first full week’s worth) of #mollyinaminute videos. Follow along by following me on twitter, using hashtag #mollyinaminute, or following my YouTube channel. And send questions, comments, ideas, and random thoughts to mollyinaminute at gmail dot com.